The present invention relates to a sliding door safety device. More particularly, the invention relates to a deactivation preventing device for preventing deactivation of a sliding door safety device for a sliding door slidably mounted in a door frame having a track slidably accommodating the door.
People, and especially children, are often injured when they have a hand caught between a sliding door and its frame when they or someone else pushes the door closed and is not aware of the dangerous position of the hand.
My U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,553, granted Aug. 28, 1979 and my copending patent application, Ser. No. 164,083, filed June 30, 1980 disclose sliding door safety devices for preventing the fingers of unsuspecting people, and especially children, from being crushed between the door and the frame of a sliding door when the door is suddenly closed, and for preventing injury to people's hands when a sliding door is suddenly closed, which device is of simple structure and installable with facility and convenience for use with newly installed and old doors, which devices are inexpensive in manufacture and function efficiently, effectively and reliably to prevent a sliding door from closing fully, thereby preventing the hand of an unsuspecting person from being crushed between the door and its frame when the door is suddenly closed.
The sliding door safety devices described in my patent and patent application function due to gravitational force. However, after each activation or operation of the sliding door safety device, a ball must be manually positioned so that it is ready for the next operation or activation. The ball may be manually positioned at a point from which the gravitational force on the ball moves it toward the leading surface of the door or the leading surface of the frame, rather than between the door and the frame, where it must move in order to function properly. If the ball is manually positioned so that the ball will be moved by gravitational force to the leading surface of the door or the leading surface of the frame, rather than between the door and the frame, the sliding door safety device is deactivated and will not function in the desired manner.
The principal object of the invention is to provide a sliding door safety device which includes a deactivation preventing device of simple structure, which is inexpensive in manufacture and prevents deactivation of the sliding door safety device.
An object of the invention is to provide a sliding door safety device having a deactivation preventing device which functions efficiently, effectively and reliably to prevent deactivation of the sliding door safety device by assuring the proper operation of said device all the time.